[sidindica]

TALL BOYS-PART 2

After a decade of rivalry between the two tall boys-Santro VS Wagon R, comes a new round-so much that both these cars are in the list of top sellers in our market.

Hyundai came with its I10, and its quality interiors, engineering, competitive price and plethora of equipment made it immediately a chartbuster for Hyundai not only in India (where it made its global debut), but also globally, where it is exported from Chennai.

It had only one weakness-its Santro-derived 1.1 iRDE engine was lackluster at best and despite its good mileage, lacked the performance expected from a new gen hatch. Part attributed to its substantially heavy kerb weight-around 150 kg more than the Santro.

In july 2008, however, this weakness was addressed with the introduction of a brand new all aluminium 1197 cc kappa engine with 16V DOHC (claimed to be first in class) which produced a respectible 80 ps and 11.4 kg-m of torque.

Sales skyrocketed and with the introduction of more varients, Hyundai had made sure that the customer had virtually no other choice in this segment.

Until Now.

Market leader, Maruti, under pressure had to respond. Though they had 2 tall boys-wagon R and Zen estilo, both had become obsolete compared to i10 and a more modern, mature car called the splash was already on sale in other markets. So what better option but to introduce it in ours as well?

Maruti spent about a year fine tuning the car for our conditions which involved increasing the ground clearance, modifying the engine to qualify for our "small car" norms-involved reducing the capacity from 1242 cc to 1197 cc with 85 ps and 11.3 kg-m of torque.
Also, due to copyright issues, the name was changed from splash to ritz.

This engine, dubbed the KB series is the newest of the small capacity motors of the Suzuki family and also has an all aluminium 16V DOHC configuration, able to meet Euro 4 norms with ease.
With this engine, Maruti expects to give Hyundai sleepless nights.

But already, the war of words is on.

• Maruti claims that its KB series engine is Kappa ka Baap.
• Hyundai claims that the I10 scores a perfect intelligent 10 and the ritz has no glitz.

Globally, the I10 and ritz are replacements for santro and wagon R but in India, they are sold side by side, albeit at a slight premium since both the older cars are still at good demand.

Now, the big question is-which one of the tall boys really stands tall?

Expect this to be a closely fought comparison test.

Once again,

The winner takes it all.
The loser's standing small.
Besides the victory, that's a destiny.

[sidindica]

Hyundai I10 1.2 kappa

list price (Ex showroom Delhi in Rupees for manual transmission)

• Magna-3,92,701
• Magna Metallic-3,96,183
• Sportz-4,19,700
• Sportz metallic-4,23,180
• Asta ABS + Dual airbags-4,76,301 (15,000 extra for sunroof)
• Asta ABS + Dual airbags metallic-4,79,783 (15500 extra for sunroof)

What's hot:

• matured styling
• quality interiors with amazing fit and finish
• usable boot and rear seat legroom
• nicely equipped
• refined and peppy engine with consistent power band
• improved rear ride quality
• highway manners
• Hyundai's after sales backup

Whats not:

• rear resembles old santro
• no adjustable head restraints and absence of height adjustable driver seat
• absence of vital equipment like dead pedal, alloy wheels
• 13" wheels feel puny and undertyred as compared to ritz
• feels a bit overpriced
• expensive on maintenance as compared to maruti

Maruti Suzuki Ritz 1.2 KB

list price (Ex showroom Delhi in Rupees)
same price for solid and metallic shades

• LXi- 3,90,000
• VXi-4,20,000
• VXi ABS- 4,50,000
• ZXi ABS and Dual airbags-4,80,000

Whats hot:

• Road presence from the front end that makes i10 look like a wimp
• high seating position
• superb torquey engine
• flexible and refined engine with flat torque curve
• 14" wheels for extra grip
• improved ride and handling with new EPS
• price to features ratio makes it terrific value for money
• unparalleled maruti service network
• superb front seat comfort
• ergonomics and driving position

Whats not:

• questionable interior plastics
• out-of sync "kicked" rear styling
• LXi is underequipped
• nervous highway manners due to short wheelbase.
• rear seat legroom is short, so is the boot
• body prone to rattles

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by sidindica

Whats not:
1) nervous highway manners due to short wheelbase.
2) rear seat legroom is short, so is the boot.
3) body prone to rattles

1) I think this has to do with suspension being on the softer side rather than the short wheelbase. I am not claiming that shorter wheelbase is not affecting the highway manners, but the biggest contributing factor is softer suspension IMHO. I have not driven Ritz extensively, but I have felt that though Wagon R feels more top heavy, it is better on highways ( this could be wrong also as I am to drive Ritz at high speeds on NE-1 ).

2) As per the spec sheet, Ritz has more boot space volume than Swift. Swift is 232 ltrs boot and Ritz is 236 ltrs. This is not a big difference, but then its as good as Swift. Again I am not claiming that Ritz boot is big, but its not as ridiculously small. Even Indica Vista is 232 ltrs.
Coming back to topic, I10 has 225 ltrs boot space ( source ACI ). So I think in this comparision, its unfair to claim that Ritz has small boot. In this comparo, its I10 that has smaller boot space.

3) This is yet to be proven. I think its too early to conclude on this factor. In case of Swift we have issues reported by owners on TBHP itself. IIRC, we are yet to hear about so many owners complaining about rattles in case of Ritz. I felt that Ritz had better interior fit and finish than Swift.

[sidindica]

(The cars tested belonged to our relatives, so no pics are taken to maintain privacy respect. Pics from the net for comparison purposes and accessories shown need not necessarily be a part of standard equipment.
Actual cars may vary depending upon market requirements.)

Looks and Styling:

Hyundai I10: 7 /10
Maruti Ritz: 6 /10

None of these cars are good lookers, but since cost pressure dictates limited styling scope, both these cars are now acceptable looking, more so when we see a lot of them on our roads.

Hyundai's I10, launched in fall 2007, was born in Hyundai's Namyang design studios in Seoul, designed completely in house by its designers and as a result, the car is actually one of the better designed hyundais, especially compared to the overtly creased and curved Santro.

The front end with its triangular headlights looks particularly striking and gels well with the kinked bumper and superbly integrated air-dam.
The grill, inspired by civic, looks decent and gives the I10 some street presence, expected from a kei-car. The sides also look decent, if somewhat bland with the kink on the bottom of the rear window giving it loads of character.
The rear is plain and flat and obviously resembles the original santro which created a lot of debates when it was launched in 1998.
However, the design is superbly integrated and all curves seem to gel with each other. A neat touch is the detachable plastic mounding in both the bumpers which protect you against minor side bruises and reduces the cost of bumper repair, but it makes the car look a bit over styled.

However, after 2 years and more than 1,50,000 cars roaming in our roads, it has become a common sight and it now looks a bit bland.
A refresh is on the cards but wont happen before mid 2010 at the earliest.

In comparision, Maruti's Ritz does have some glitz from the front and sides at least. For a car of this size and footprint, it looks imposing and its I20-like headlights and Audi-like grill with the big "S" logo gives it some kind of road prescence that makes the I10 look wimpy and feminine in comparision. Dark colours suit the ritz better and it gives it some character aided by clean styling from the front 3 quarters, matured without any creases and curves, and the large side windows give it character.

However, all's well dos not necessarily end well as the rear end does not gel well with the rest of the car's design and it looks as if the designers were playing football at the lunchtime and accidentally kicked at the rear end of the mocked up clay model(!), leading to this shape.Point lost for it.
Either love it or hate it.
The rear taillights do their best to reduce the visual bulk but sadly, the rear looks out of sync and proportion to the superbly designed front.

Build Quality:

Hyundai I10: 7 /10
Maruti Ritz: 6 /10

The Hyundai is definitely better built since the car is exported globally from here and quality conscious European market demands are very high in terms of build, fit and finish and Hyundai does feel well screwed and put together.
Owners have also given positive feedback to the body which remains relatively rattle free after usage over thousands of kilometers over our rough roads. The panel gaps, shut lines and even nuts and bolts, both inside and outside, have a quality feel to it so does the superb paint job. For the asking price, fit and finish is excellent and you do get an impression of "bang for the buck" factor.

Though the Ritz is a relatively a new product and its too early to comment on the build quality, it does feel better built than other marutis.
However, fit and finish, especially of some interior plastics feels low rent as compared to I10 and the rubber beadings feel downmarket due to heavy localization and mass production to keep up with the high demand.
paint job, though is superb and the panel gaps are consistent save for the boot lid which feels a bit misaligned.

Also, the way the doors shut on the ritz does not inspire confidence as compared to the I10, which feels well screwed together.

However, keep in mind that these cars are built to bean counter regulations so do not expect fiat levels of solidity.

[prince_pervez]

Thats a fantastic comparo @sidindica.
I'd prefer the i10 anyday over the ritz even though I have been a Maruti fan.
Most of all has anyone observed the Ritz from behind. It looks aweful. That is a very very big turn off.
Heck, I thought the Santro had/has the upper hand v/s the Wagon R.

[Fountainheader]

Kappa ka Baap

Great comparison Sid. All said and done neither of the cars are head turners wrt design. Lets see what the sales charts say.

[romeomidhun]

Sid, please complete the comparison. And mods, please edit the thread so that all the parts of the comparison are placed in a single post.

[sidindica]

Interior design and practicality:

Hyundai I10: 6 /10
Maruti Ritz: 7 /10

This is a close call, with the maruti a bit ahead in terms of overall attributes.

Both cars have similar dashboard designs, with the gear lever sprouting out of the central console to maximize more utility between the front seats.

The i10 has a curvy beige dashboard design with a clamshell instrument cluster housing the speedo, tacho, fuel gauge and other telltale lights, making it easier to read. Also, the positioning of the stereo at eye level means that the driver is not distracted while driving and can keep the eyes on the road.

Two big sized cupholders are provided between the front seats and the door pockets are decently sized, save for the ones on the rear which feel a bit small. The space above the dashboard is wasted (on non-airbag models) and atleast an additional glovebox can be provided in place of it.
Rear parcel tray is standard on all 1.2 models of the i10, further increasing its practicality.
However, some vital features like driver's seat height adjust, steering mounted controls and a small tray hidden under the driver's seat are missing, all present in the ritz. Also, the seats do not split 60:40, limiting its versitality.

Questionable fit and finish and disastrous instrument design are perhaps the only chink in the Ritz's design's Armour.
The speedometer, inspired from the mini cooper looks great but too many telltale signs around it and a pint-sized digital fuel gauge make it difficult to read. Moreover it is not helped from the pop-up tachometer design which requires a magnifying glass to read it for the weak-eyed persons.

The ritz, otherwise does better as well as practicality is concerned. Small touches as mentioned above (absent in the I10) lend it an air of practicality, the glovebox is decently sized, and split rear seats give it a level of practicality very few can match. The dashboard, reminiscent of the CR-V looks superb with the waterfall console and more usable horizontal AC vents (as compared to old school vertical ones on the I10) led it some brownie points.

The beige interior of the i10 tends to catch sun reflections easily and distracts the driver on long drives, also they tend to soil easily and require frequent dry cleaning to keep it shining.

the ritz on the other hand may have cheap looking black interiors, but feel more suitable for our conditions as reflection is pretty less on the windscreen as compared to the I10's.

The ZXI model comes with splashes of blue on the dashboards and seats, giving it the look of dual tone design but not to everyone's taste.

[sidindica]

Space and comfort, front:

Hyundai I10: 6 /10
Maruti Ritz: 8 /10

At the front, its clearly the Ritz that has more space. The long seat travel means that passengers of all sizes will fit easily, something which the I10 lacks. The prescence of driver's seat height adjustment and tilt adjust steering (on ZXI) means that it is not tough to find an ideal driving position. Legroom, also is superb with tall passengers being able to stretch their legs comfortably. The high seating position means that visibility is amazing and you get a good view of the road ahead. Good for ladies.

The seats them selves are superbly comfortable with optmal underthigh and lumbar support, the contours of the seat designed keeping in mind the importance of comfort while driving in congested cities, a stressful environment. Also, the front head restraints adjust for height,a safety feature, though not something to mention but unfortunately absent in I10.

The i10 may have better quality interiors but front seat comfort is not among its strongest points. They are placed low, more lower tha the santro, leave alone the ritz, and restricted travel means legroom is in short supply for tall drivers, often having to sit in knees upright position, not at all comfortble for long drives. Though the seats are in general comfortablely cushioned, the squab feels a bit flat and lumbar support is not good as the ritz.
Moreover, the absence of adjustable head restraints is a grossly overlooked feature which hampers comfort for tall drivers and also, not good from safety point of view.

Space and Comfort, rear:

Hyundai I10: 7 /10
Maruti Ritz: 6 /10

The i10 is better when it comes to rear seat comfort. The cushioning is better then the Ritz and even though the seats are placed low, under thigh support is good and doesn't feel tiresome in long drives.
2 persons can fit comfortable while the occasional 3rd passenger is a squeeze due to narrow width due to size limitations.
Legroom for a car of its size is decent and most short to medium sized passengers will feel comfortably as compared to Ritz.

The Ritz is definitely short on both space and comfort at the rear.
Shorter wheelbase (2360 mm as compared to i10's 2380 mm) also is the culprit here.
Legroom is short, the seats are flat and lack under thigh support and the sloping rear windows feel claustrophobic. Again, the seat is good only for 2 people, though taller people will fit due to extra height.

Headroom is decent considering the tall boy designs of both cars, but again, the Ritz has an edge here due to its extra height (1620 mm) as compared to that of the I10 (1550 mm).

Usable boot space:

Hyundai i10: 6 /10
Maruti Ritz: 5 /10

Though the quoted boot space of i10 is less than that of the ritz (225 litres VS 232 for the ritz), The i10 with its more width and depth has more usable loading area.

The Ritz, not aided by the banged up rear design (which robs it of usable space), feels short in utility. Absence of parcel tray on LXI and VXi versions is also shocking on a car costing upwards of 4L rupees.

However, the Ritz offers 60:40 split seats on all models which the i10 doesn't. So, its flexibility is better as compared to that of the i10.

[sidindica]

Engine and performance:

Hyundai I10: 7 /10
Maruti Ritz: 8 /10

Timing obtained using a stopwatch early morning on an empty expressway using repeated acceleration tests:

Hyundai I10 0-100 kmph: 12.97 sec
Maruti Ritz 0-100 kmph: 12.56 sec

On paper, both engines have similar displacements and torque characteristics, with the ritz's engine having more power output by a whisker. Performance is also similar but the characteristics of the engine is different in both the models.

Hyundai's i10 1.2 comes with a new engine family named "kappa" with 1197cc producing 80ps power@5200 rpm and 11.4 kg-m torque at a high 4000 rpm with an all aluminum construction, 16V DOHC configuration.

Start the engine and as expected from a modern day light alloy gasoline engine, it is amazingly refined and smooth.
Performance, as expected from a 80ps engine powering a car weighing close to a tonne, is amazing with 0-100 kmph dispatched in a respectable 12.97 sec with all that torque coming into play. Bottom end performance is competent and the engine's flexibility makes it easy to drive at higher gears, even at low speeds without the need to downshift to lower gears, with Hyundai also concentrated on tuning the engine for driveability and mileage.

At high RPMs, the engine sounds harsher, though not throaty and some amount of sound does filter in the cabin.
Maximum speed is in the range of 160 kmph.

However, the newest Suzuki KB series engine all aluminium 16V DOHC, displacing an identical 1197 cc with 85 ps@ 6000 rpm and 11.3 kg-m torque @4500 rpm, is an absolute jewel.
Though the powertrain has less torque than the Hyundai and that too at a higher RPM, the engine's superb flat torque curve means that it responds instantly to the throttle (better then the kappa) and noses ahead in the 0-100 kmph sprints (12.56 sec). The sheer flexibility of the engine belies its figures and again, it is much more easier to drive in the city and highway than the i10.

The engine is also remarkably refined and free revving, never it runs out of breadth even on its redline.
The tall 4th and 5th gears are also key to its amazing response at high revs. Bottom end performance could be better (the i10 has an edge here) but the engine simply loves to be revved hard and driving this car is amazingly easy and stress free.

Gearbox (shift quality):

Hyundai i10: 6 /10
Maruti Ritz: 8 /10

Another victory for maruti here.
The gearbox of the Ritz is simply smooth with short throws, especially in the 3rd and 4th gears, and compliments this engine perfectly.
Shifting is absolute joy and the stick itself feels sporty.

The i10's box, on the other hand feels a bit clunky and long throws are present on 2nd and 3rd gears, and the lever itself feels a touch small and less smooth shifting as compared to the Ritz's box.
In fact, still the Santro's box has far better and short throw shifts as compared to its modern sibling.

[jkdas]

Pal; great job with scoops etc. But can you post pix of what is sold in India? Stay with facts not paid up write ups.

And, i10 shouldnt be a rival for Ritz (unless Suzuki is scared). Both are of different segment right?

It should be i20 vs Ritz.

[DCEite]

Ritz is the new Kind of B segment hatches, In my opinion.
i10 is a competent car alright, but things like bumpy ride at the rear, beige reflection on windscreen, marginally worse performance FE and gearbox, seal the deal in favour of Ritz for me!

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Heck, I thought the Santro had/has the upper hand v/s the Wagon R.

Santro had the upper hand until Maruti improved the exterior looks of WR and introduced the DUO version. Right now, WR is the second largest selling car in India after the Alto!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Nice detailed review sidindica. Waiting for the rest of the review to come up!

Originally Posted by jkdas

Both are of different segment right?

It should be i20 vs Ritz.

Ritz is priced competitively near the i10.

For example (ex-showroom delhi, taken from company website)-

i10 1.2 Asta (without sunroof) - 479783.
Suzuki Ritz ZXi- 479999.92

[inferno]

Ritz size, engine and price, all are comparable to only i10. But at the launch also, Maruti said that Ritz is launched to compete with i20. Seems like Maruti wants to make a segment higher image with segment lesser price.

Btw, for me if I'm spending around for 3.9 or 4.2, I would straight away think for i10 magna and sportz respectively, but at 4.8 lac Ritz Zxi proves to be alot more VFM than stupid i10 Asta which doesnt even have alloys or decent tyres ! i10's top version is horribly priced !

[jkdas]

So coz Maruti make Ritz cheaper its a competitor to i10? And the build quality of Ritz. Pathetic!

And they even stopped selling Swift to help Ritz's sales. Shame.